Missionary update from Antofagasta Chile.
Good afternoon everyone...
I am posting an update from missionaries to Antofagasto, Chile that our church supports. This husband and wife team have both praises and prayer requests to share. I believe it is helpful for all of us to see what our missionaries face so that we remember them in prayer because they sacrifice so much.
The Time Is Short
1 Corinthians 7 is a chapter full of interesting principles
and applications of theological truths. While Paul admits that neither marriage
nor singleness is commanded or forbidden by God (v. 28), he says we all ought
to think seriously about our lives, because our time is limited. We ought to
live as immigrants and foreigners in this life, because the world’s system is
passing away. Therefore, we shouldn’t allow our relationships to entangle us
(v. 29) nor our emotions to dominate us (v. 30). We shouldn’t allow our
possessions to dictate how we live (v. 30), nor should we allow our hearts to
cling to this world (v. 31). The time is short: walk in wisdom and glorify God
where he has placed us.
Time definitely doesn’t feel short as the days and weeks
melt into months. The only change we’ve had in our city’s lockdown status is
that the regional government announced two weeks ago that instead of renewing
the lockdown week by week, it is now “indefinite,” and they’ll tell us when
we’re allowed to emerge again. We’ll continue recording Bible studies for
Sundays and Wednesdays and doing personal Bible studies on Zoom and WhatsApp (I
counted eighteen Bible studies in the past month, not including our weekly
Sunday and Wednesday church meetings). We are thankful for these avenues to
serve the Lord in the unique situation in which he has placed us.
Joaquín, the newborn son of Andrés and Cle, had a skin
irritation and serious swelling in his face and had to spend a week in the
hospital. Because of all the virus precautions, they had to leave him there and
couldn’t visit him. After many tests excluding several serious conditions, the
doctors determined he had very sensitive skin and he was allowed to come home.
God’s grace was evident in the peace he gave to the young parents and the care
evidenced in our church family. We are thankful for God’s grace in the lives of
our teammates.
For the first time, we are hearing the numbers of people who
are dying day by day. People have been dying since Adam and Eve disobeyed God
and ate the fruit he had forbidden them to eat, but now those numbers are
highlighted each day in the news. Many of them “have not the knowledge of God”
(1 Cor 15:34) and need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. “See then that ye
walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the
days are evil” (Eph 5:15–16).
Thank God
with us:
• For his
grace in strength and health for each day.
• For his
grace in the health of our teammates’ son Joaquín.
• For his
grace in the spiritual health of our church family.
Pray to God with us:
• For his
grace to walk in wisdom with our limited time and resources.
• For his
grace in the ongoing waiting process for our permanent residency documents.
• For his
grace as we seek to serve Jesus’ church here in Antofagasta.
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